Rongrong returned to the Yuhua Palace and changed out of the outfit that Su Xin had helped her put on in the morning.

Su Xin said, “Miss, if you change now, won’t it seem too deliberate to others?”

“I’m not trying to compete with Miss Liang’s prominence. If I change my clothes now and Miss Liang sees me, it will just seem like a coincidence,” Rongrong said, ignoring Su Xin’s advice.

She changed into a light green gauze jacket with a mint green overcoat.

“Su Xin, redo my hair, just like you did this morning, but don’t let the ribbon hang down.”

Though her clothes had changed from lake-green silk to light green gauze, and her hair was not altered, the overall look still appeared similar to the previous one.

However, attentive observers would notice the difference.

Rongrong was firm in her request, and Su Xin, seeing no point in arguing, re-styled her hair into a simple knot as instructed.

While Rongrong was looking at herself in the bronze mirror, and Su Xin was standing behind her brushing her hair, Rongrong suddenly remembered something. “Su Xin, where did this silver bracelet come from?”

Su Xin was taken aback. “It was given to me by Eunuch Fu. It’s just a silver bracelet; it shouldn’t stand out too much. Don’t worry about it.”

The bracelet might not be conspicuous.

But why did the Emperor specifically mention that the bracelet looked nice?

Rongrong lifted her wrist and removed the bracelet to examine it closely. It didn’t seem extraordinary.

Seeing Rongrong’s actions, Su Xin hesitated to speak.

She didn’t know the bracelet’s origin, but she had lied to Rongrong.

The bracelet was not given by Fu Quan but was directly handed to her by His Majesty yesterday, with specific instructions to make sure Rongrong wore it today.

From the way His Majesty had presented it, the bracelet seemed to be of great importance.

Su Xin felt anxious, fearing that if Rongrong refused to wear the bracelet, she would have failed in her duty.

Fortunately, after examining the bracelet, Rongrong put it back on her wrist.

Su Xin breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Miss, are you hungry? Would you like me to prepare a meal?”

Rongrong had eaten very little at breakfast, and with all the concerns and worries throughout the day, she realized her stomach was empty now that Su Xin mentioned it.

She nodded in agreement.

The kitchen in the Eastern Palace was busy preparing for the palace banquet today, so only three small dishes were sent to Rongrong.

Su Xin was annoyed by this, but Rongrong didn’t mind.

After eating, Rongrong was unsure of what to do next.

Everything had been well organized earlier, and there was no need for her to continue wandering in front of those people.

As the Empress said, it was best if nothing went wrong before the Crown Prince and Liang Muchen’s wedding.

Rongrong sat in a daze for a while before going to the small study to retrieve her previous manuscript.

It was a new story she had recently conceived.

The heroine was a widow who fled her village during the chaos of war and encountered a young master who had been robbed and left with nothing.

The young master promised that if the widow brought him back to the capital, he would reward her handsomely.

The widow was a capable woman, but the young master, unable to do any work, relied on the widow’s help to avoid becoming a beggar.

From Jiangnan to the capital, a journey of several thousand miles, feelings grew between the young master and the widow.

By the time they arrived in the capital, the young master no longer wished to part with the widow…

She had only thought of this much of the story, and wasn’t sure how to proceed.

In her heart, she hoped the young master and the widow could be together and live a happy life, have children, and prosper.

Yet, she also felt that once the young master returned to the capital and resumed his normal life, there would be no place for the widow in his world.

“Miss,” Su Xin knocked on the door of the small study.

Rongrong hurriedly put away the manuscript.

She kept her manuscripts in a box, at the very bottom of the bookcase, weighed down by a few books.

After returning the manuscript to its place, she opened the door for Su Xin.

“What is it?”

Su Xin said, “I received word that Young Master Yuanbao has soiled his sleeve and asked you to bring him a change of clothes.”

He must have been playing around with Liu Yu and the others.

Rongrong quickly went to her sleeping quarters to fetch a garment for Yuanbao and headed towards Yicui Pavilion.

Yuhua Palace was on the east side of Fengchi, while Yicui Pavilion was on the west side.

As Rongrong walked towards Fengchi, she heard the sound of bamboo flutes and music from Yicui Pavilion from afar.

It reminded her of the Lantern Festival, when she and the father and son had listened to music by the East Lake.

She wondered if they would ever be able to go boating and listen to music together again.

It didn’t have to be three people; just Yuanbao and her would be wonderful.

The area by Fengchi was lush with trees, and the wooden walkway underneath was serene and quiet, but being alone there made her a bit anxious.

As she walked, she suddenly saw someone standing on the wooden walkway ahead.

As she got closer, she realized it was Xie Yuanchu.

He was looking around as if searching for someone or something.

“Lord Xie,” Rongrong called out.

Hearing the voice, Xie Yuanchu turned around. When he saw it was Rongrong, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Master Xie, what brings you over here?” Rongrong wanted to exchange a few pleasantries with Xie Yuanchu but noticed his expression was unfriendly, and he seemed unwilling to even look at her. “Master Xie, is something wrong?”

Xie Yuanchu’s gaze was cold as he replied, “If you didn’t stir up trouble, there wouldn’t be any issues.”

Rongrong was taken aback, not understanding what Xie Yuanchu was referring to.

But seeing his demeanor, it was clear he wasn’t in the mood for a polite conversation.

“Master Xie, Yuanbao is waiting for me to bring him a change of clothes. I need to go now.”

Hearing this, Xie Yuanchu sneered even more, unable to hold back his anger, and said, “Yuanbao, Yuanbao, Yuanbao! Now that you’ve climbed up the ranks in the Eastern Palace and mesmerized the Crown Prince, you think you can do whatever you want?”

Was he out of his mind?

Rongrong was shocked by his words and became annoyed.

Since there was no one else around, she felt bolder. “If Master Xie has something to say, please say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

“If I’m beating around the bush, then you’re digging corners behind people’s backs!” Xie Yuanchu seemed enraged, his voice raised, his eyes filled with anger. “Now that someone is backing you up, you think you can speak so loudly.”

“I… what corners am I digging?” Rongrong recalled the earlier marriage discussions between the Jingning Marquis’s family and the Eastern Palace and, seeing Xie Yuanchu’s accusatory stance, couldn’t help but clarify, “What is my status that I could interfere with the Crown Prince’s marriage? The Empress selected Miss Liang; what does that have to do with me?”

“Who told you it’s about Liang Mu Chen? Don’t play dumb here.”

Rongrong felt deeply wronged by Xie Yuanchu’s accusations.

She had never argued like this before.

But since the argument had started, she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“What am I pretending about? Please clarify.”

Xie Yuanchu’s anger turned to mockery. “Alright, I’ve been wanting to clear this up with you for a long time! Tell me, did you give Zhenzhen one hundred taels of silver to buy her freedom?”

Was Xie Yuanchu furious because of her helping Zhenzhen buy her freedom?

Rongrong was stunned.

Seeing her silence, Xie Yuanchu confirmed his suspicions and became even more furious. “Since you entered the Marquis’s residence, have I ever treated you badly?

Whenever you made mistakes or caused trouble in the residence, I always protected you.

Recently, I’ve been running around for your brother.

Whether you remember my kindness is one thing, but why are you still digging at my walls? Isn’t this a betrayal of kindness?”

Rongrong was even more confused. “What happened to my brother?”

“Don’t digress, just answer my question.”

“The Young Master has never wronged me,” though she avoided mentioning the previous owner of her body, she had received a lot of care from Xie Yuanchu in this life. “But when I asked Zhenzhen to redeem herself, it was not to undermine the Young Master.”

“You still say it’s not? You clearly know that Zhenzhen will eventually be mine and yet encouraged her to redeem herself?

If that’s not undermining, then what is it? Are you thinking of sending her to your brother as a concubine?”

“My brother is just running errands and delivering money for me. He’s a farmer; how could he make Zhenzhen his concubine?”

“He…” Xie Yuanchu forcefully swallowed the rest of his words. “So you admit that you encouraged Zhenzhen to redeem herself?”

“When I redeemed myself back then, Zhenzhen helped me, and I owed her a favor. Of course, I had to help her redeem herself.”

Seeing Rongrong so resolutely defending her actions only made Xie Yuanchu more furious. “Zhenzhen is my woman. If you help her redeem herself, that’s undermining me.”

“Fine, you keep saying Zhenzhen is your woman. Let me ask you, is she your wife or your concubine? Neither, right? So how can you say she’s your woman?”

“You’re asking intentionally.”

“I’m asking intentionally?” Rongrong, seeing Xie Yuanchu’s irritation, grew angry herself and was determined to seek justice for Zhenzhen. “I know Zhenzhen’s feelings, and the Young Master knows Zhenzhen’s feelings too. Yet you’ve been pretending not to know. If you tell me when you’ll take Zhenzhen as a concubine, I will immediately go to the Courtyard to get my money back and persuade Zhenzhen to stay by your side.”

“Why should I tell you when I’ll take a concubine?” Xie Yuanchu retorted angrily.

Rongrong coldly laughed, “Then you don’t need to accuse me of undermining you!”

“You…”

“Cough, cough!”

As the two argued heatedly, someone nearby suddenly cleared their throat loudly.